I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Ji Tian was puzzled to see that the fearsome pirate, Hai Jue, was wearing a tragic yet reverent expression.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Hero, please continue."

Valen was a smart man and naturally wouldn't say anything inappropriate.

After paying such a price, are we still prioritizing others?

Is this the hero's resolve?

It seems I'm still a complete novice when it comes to helping others.

I acknowledge you, hero!

Fortunately, Ji Tian is currently in the mortal transformation stage and has not tried to listen to the other party's thoughts, otherwise he would have ridiculed and harshly criticized the shortcomings of this world's magic system.

As the saying goes, "Heavenly secrets should not be revealed." Divination or prophecy does indeed follow the principle of equivalent exchange: the more important and vague the matter being divined, the lower the diviner's cultivation level, and the heavier the price they will pay.

If that's the case, why not just improve the diviner's skill level and acquire enough divination conditions, and then simplify the divination answers?

Of course, there are quite a few parts that require micro-management.

After a brief exchange, Ji Tian quickly identified three problems.

First of all, most pirates in the seas are now equipped with new cannons. Even a high-ranking pirate like himself could suffer a great loss if caught off guard, not to mention the merchant ships that are plundered. Maritime safety has become a problem.

Secondly, the fact that the entire supply chain could operate outside the William family's sphere of influence indicates that the mastermind behind it is no weaker than the William family, and may even be stronger. One of their purposes in doing so is to make the William family a target of public criticism.

Third, what was the purpose of the mastermind selling these cannons to the pirates? If it was simply to frame the William family, they could have caught them red-handed when the cannons were ready for delivery.

After briefly understanding the situation, William's eldest son left to seek his father's advice.

After the two finished talking, Maximilian pushed open the door and walked into the side hall:

"My lord, Lord Sealord, the family has begun investigating anyone who may have come into contact with the Castro Island supply chain. My father's instructions are to inform you both truthfully whoever is found."

Ji Tian ignored the other party for a while before speaking:

"Investigating the mastermind will take time, but the pirates' cannons won't wait. I plan to go to sea first and retrieve the cannons that have already been released."

Maximilian was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, clearly not expecting Ji Tian to choose to take the initiative at this time. He had originally thought that the hero would remain at the manor and wait for the William family to clarify the clues before taking action, but upon further reflection, he felt it made sense:

The factory on Castro Island has been sealed off. Although the supply chain has not been fully uncovered, no new goods will be released in the short term.

The real problem is the cannons that have already been leaked and equipped on pirate ships, threatening the safety of shipping lanes in the southern waters.

Knowing that the other party possessed the ability of prophecy, Valen felt that listening to this hero was the right thing to do, and nodded in agreement:

"You are a brave and righteous man. I will stay and assist the William family in continuing their investigation."

A consensus was reached on the division of labor.

Ji Tian didn't delay and led his team back to the dock area.

Captain Evelyn, the elf, stood by the gangway of the Seagull, with several packed wooden crates at her feet. Her ship had been loaded with supplies, the sails were furled, and the hull gently rose and fell with the tide in the berth.

"Your Excellency, would you like us to escort you to the Elven Royal Court?"

"Thank you, but no need, I have other things to do."

"Then we'll part ways here. This voyage was shorter than expected, but it was quite interesting." She smiled at Lilith and teased, "Little girl, don't try to fish for seaweed next time."

Lilith, who was standing on tiptoe looking at the small boats around her, stomped her foot angrily upon hearing this:

"That's not seaweed! That's a rare ingredient! You were the one who said so!"

Evelyn chuckled, waved goodbye to the hero team, and didn't tell Lilith that she had said that to take care of her feelings.

Ji Tian found several small, old sailboats for sale on the other side of the dock, and bought one of the better ones.

The boat owner was an elderly retired sailor. Hearing that the buyer was a brave soul, he negotiated the price down to 20% below market value and also included two buckets of juice and a bundle of spare sail rope.

As the ship departed the harbor, dusk was spreading across the sea.

Ji Tian spread out the transaction records compiled from Castro Island and Lion Fang City on the deck, with the rendezvous points, delivery dates, and the activity ranges of some pirate ships marked on the margins.

Using these methods to divine the location of the pirates was not a problem.

Ophelia sat beside Ji Tian, ​​lightly touching the paper with her fingertips. After closing her eyes for a moment, she pointed to the first direction and then cast a spell to make the ship speed towards that direction.

……

Fog is the fairest shelter at sea; it does not favor either merchant ships or pirates.

A three-masted sailing ship flying a black flag was moored quietly on the fog-shrouded sea, while a dozen pirates were scrambling across the gangplank onto the deck of the merchant ship that had been forced to a stop by a few cannon shots.

The sailors on the merchant ship had been gathered in the center of the deck, squatting in a circle with their hands behind their heads. The captain's wound on his forehead was still bleeding, and he was being held down by two pirates and made to kneel at the cargo hold door.

Not far away, the henchmen who had boarded the ship first were throwing merchant sailors who had been accidentally killed by cannon fire into the sea to feed the fish.

It was clear that the merchant ship was being hijacked by pirates.

The pirate leader was a burly, bald man with two curved swords at his waist. He stood on the forecastle of the merchant ship, looking down at the hostages huddled in a circle on the deck, and grinned:

"Don't be afraid. We will release you after your family pays the ransom. Then you can continue to sail and do business."

Before he could finish speaking, the pirate on lookout duty suddenly shouted from the mast:

"Boss! A boat is approaching from the southeast! It's a small boat!"

The leader frowned slightly, turned his head to look into the fog, but saw nothing.

"Did you see clearly? How many sails?"

"No sails! It seems to be powered by some kind of magic... There are four figures on the ship!"

The leader's expression quickly shifted from wariness to relaxation.

It was a small boat without sails, and its configuration did bear some resemblance to the iconic small boat of that elven pirate king, but that elven pirate king was always a lone wolf and would never travel with three people.

The leader waved his hand impatiently, "Most likely it's a family fishing at sea. They're not worth much. Send men up and seize the boat. Take the cargo you can, and let the people sink into the sea."

Seven or eight pirates responded to the call, jumping from the merchant ship back to their own pirate ship, drawing their swords, vaulting over the side of the ship, and leaping onto two small boats, rowing towards the small boat that was approaching from the mist.

As the small boat approached, the fog was disturbed by the ripples created by the bow, revealing a blurry outline.

Just as the pirates were about to call out to lure the other side into surrendering, they saw a figure standing on the deck of the small boat—

A young man in white stood at the bow of the boat, a sword hanging at his waist, its sheath still drawn and gleaming with a pale golden light in the mist.